


ashes to ashes, dust to dust.

by ambrosespellmans



Category: Daredevil (TV), Iron Fist (TV), Jessica Jones (TV), Luke Cage (TV), The Defenders (Marvel TV)
Genre: Angst, Episode: s01e08 The Defenders, F/M, Grief/Mourning, Hurt Danny Rand, Hurt/Comfort, Major Spoilers, Missing Scene, Retrospective, Spoilers For The Defenders, not a happy fic
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-08-25
Updated: 2017-08-25
Packaged: 2018-12-19 14:46:49
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,089
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11899956
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ambrosespellmans/pseuds/ambrosespellmans
Summary: In the end, everything turns to dust.Be it friend, be it foe, everything in the world crumbles into nothingness eventually and the ones left standing are the ones left to deal with the agony of it all.Protect my city.





	ashes to ashes, dust to dust.

**Author's Note:**

> Yo!!!! The Defenders was amazing, guys!
> 
> So I wrote this fic because yes, I actually like Danny. I understand the controversy surrounding the cultural appropriation around the character (even though Danny himself is white) but I actually enjoy Danny as a character.
> 
> I think Danny is interesting, he's both innocent as well as emotional. He's canonically suffering with PTSD, something I'd like them to explore more and I love his relationship with Colleen.
> 
> This fic was born out of a need to see more Danny/Colleen and Defenders angst.
> 
> Tell me what you thought of The Defenders!

In the end, everything turns to dust.

 

Be it friend, be it foe, everything in the world crumbles into nothingness eventually and the ones left standing are the ones left to deal with the agony of it all.

 

_ Protect my city. _

 

The whispered words resounded in Danny’s head as he held Colleen close, neither one able to tear their eyes away from the wreckage where the Devil of Hell’s Kitchen had finally met his end.

 

Danny hadn’t known Matt long, barely even a week but he was quick to form bonds.  Too quick.  It was one of the many things they had tried to beat out of him in K’un-Lun but in that, actually strengthened his innocence and naivete to an extent where he easily trusted and he easily cared and he easily loved.

 

And most of all, when it all inevitably came to an end, he easily got hurt.

 

When they returned to the precinct, Danny couldn’t help but look at Foggy and Karen as they mourned their friend.  He hadn’t known them as they had but if there was one thing Danny Rand understood, it was loss.

 

His parents; taken from him.

 

Harold; responsible for his parents’ deaths, despite seemingly caring about Danny.

 

Davos; had grown to hate him due to his love for Colleen, a woman who had betrayed him.

  
And of course, he didn’t blame Colleen.  He never could, she had been indoctrinated into The Hand without a choice, brainwashed and lied to to the point where she couldn’t tell who to trust anymore.

 

They were kindred souls in that department, as everyone Danny knew had betrayed him at least once, maybe not always deliberately, but it still left a hole in him.

 

His farewell with Luke and Jessica was a bit awkward at first, none of them really knowing what to say to each other, their group of four torn down to three who were all barely clinging on to the skin of the cruel world.

 

Matt, although distracted by the Black Sky (or Elektra, as he had known her by) had been a crucial member of the group, the leader.  He had come to rescue Danny even though Danny had fought with him, had shouted at him.

 

Danny felt an immeasurable amount of guilt at that and struggled to look Luke and Jessica in the eyes.

  
His optimism spoke, “He could still--”

 

“He’s dead.” Jessica cut him off, “Nobody could’ve survived that.” she stopped, then corrected herself, “Nobody  _ human,  _ anyway.  He wasn’t like us.  He was a normal guy, no super-strength, no bulletproof skin.” she tapped Luke’s shoulder to emphasise her point, “No Iron Fist.”

 

Danny felt himself choke up at the harsh truth of her words but pushed his emotions down, just as he had been taught in K’un-Lun, “You’re right.  I’m sorry.”

  
“He made his choice.” Luke admitted, “He made it up before he got there.”

  
A silence fell between them as they all felt the weight of that awful day settling between them.

 

Colleen eventually came over and broke the silence, tapping Danny’s arm, “We should be going.”

 

Danny bit his lower lip, then nodded, “Yeah.” he looked at the others, “See you some other time, I guess?”   
  


“Keep in touch.” Luke advised, “We may need a billionaire with a magic dragon fist on our side.”

 

Jessica gave a wry smile, “He’s right.”

 

Danny managed a half-smile and snarked, “I thought you weren’t looking for superfriends?”

 

“I wouldn’t put it that far, fist boy.” Luke retorted, “Still not doing that.”

 

Danny laughed at that, the smallest, tiniest glimmer of light in what felt like an eternity of darkness.

 

When Colleen and Danny returned to the dojo, it felt curiously hollow and Danny felt everything beginning to overwhelm him again.  It was horrible and confusing; he didn’t understand why he was hurting so much.

 

His hands began to tremble and as if their minds were linked, Colleen instantly pulled him into a hug, running her hands through his hair in an attempt to soothe him.  He wasn’t exactly crying -- in fact, he couldn’t.

 

He wished he could cry out his emotions but he couldn’t, all he could do was shake in Colleen’s embrace, unable to deal with the waves of anger, guilt, grief and confusion crashing over him.

 

He was sick and tired of people dying around him, sick and tired of people losing him.

 

When he calmed, Danny pulled away from Colleen’s embrace and rubbed his face, confessing, “I can’t believe he’s dead.”

 

“It’s not your fault, Danny.” Colleen assured, resting a hand on his shoulder, “He made his choice.”   
  


Danny threw his hands down and yelled,  _ “He chose to die!  For her!” _

 

“Isn’t there anybody you’d die for?” Colleen asked.

 

Danny didn’t reply, but he knew the answer.

 

Yes.

 

He’d die for Luke and he’d die for Jessica and he’d die for Claire.  Most importantly, he’d die for Colleen.  He’d do anything for her, he loved her so much.

 

It made him think about the chance Matt had given him.  Had he not been there to save him, Danny would not have had the chance to spend another evening with Colleen, to sit with her, to meditate, to taste her lips, to hear her laugh.

 

He couldn’t imagine a world where he didn’t hear that laugh so in that moment, remembered how thankful he was for Matt, for the chance he had given him.

 

“Look, I’m going to go sort some things out.” Colleen began, her eyes searching his face, “But I’ll be back soon.  Are you going to be okay?” her hand rested on his chest.

 

Danny nodded, “I’ll be fine.  Thank you.”

 

She gave an uneasy smile before breaking away from him and walking out, leaving him alone.

 

He felt empty without her and couldn’t really process why.  It seemed that almost being killed by a warrior weapon really took it out of him and he could barely even think.

 

He settled onto the floor, getting into the lotus position as he tried to clear his mind.

 

Yes, Matt had died.

 

No, life did not stop.

 

There was still good left to fight for and he thought back to Matt’s message, his last request.  He had trusted Danny, a man whom he had barely known, to protect his city.

 

Danny thought of Colleen, of her lips and her eyes and her laugh and knew why he had to fight.

 

He had to fight for his home.

 

He’d be damned if that turned to dust and ashes too.

**Author's Note:**

> [follow my tumblr!](http://legendsofgaymorrow.tumblr.com)   
>  [follow my twitter!](http://twitter.com/lgbtcanaries)
> 
> kudos/comments are always appreciated.


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